USPS Postage Rate Increase

The new United States Postal Services postage rates went into effect on January 27, 2013.

The rate increase include:

Letters (1oz.) — 1-cent increase to 46 cents

Letters additional ounces — unchanged at 20 cents

Letters to all international destinations (1oz.) — $1.10

Postcards — 1-cent increase to 33 cents

Forever Stamps, the ones that remain good for mailing a one-ounce letter anytime in the future regardless of price changes, increased to 46 cents.

The USPS also introduced a new First-Class Mail Global Forever Stamp. The stamp allows people to mail letters anywhere in the world for $1.10.

Priority Mail rates also will see an increase. The new rates are as follows:

Small box — $5.80

Medium box — $12.35

Large box — $16.85

Large APO/FPO box — $14.85

Regular envelope — $5.60

Legal envelope — $5.75

Padded envelope — $5.95

You can save postage by using the right sized envelope. Using a #10 envelope for mailing up to 5 sheets of paper instead of an 8 ½ x 11 envelope can save $0.46 in postage fees. Using a 6 x 9 envelope and folding the paper in half can also reduce postage by $0.46 up to 3.5 ounces.

I’m not sure how long these postage increases can be sustainable. With the talk of USPS cutting Saturday deliveries and prices rising and rising, it’s very concerning for both businesses and people that relay on the post office. It’s only a penny increase for first class so it’s not terribly bad so we’ll see how things pan out going forward.

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My name is Qin Tang.

USANA Associate, Librarian & Writer.
I have a passion for healthy living - body, mind and spirit. As a USANA Associate, I love to help you live healthy and well through life style changes and through high quality nutritional supplements from USANA.
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